Extracting Metals

Extracting Metals

1. Limestone

   • Quarries
     • Noisy
     • Creates Jobs
     • Pollution
     • Better Healthcare
     • Damages Landscape
     • Improves Transport Links
     • Lots of Traffic created
   • Cement
     • Result of Heating Limestone and Clay
       • Limestone= Calcium Carbonate
         • Calcium Carbonate =
     • DOES NOT DRY OUT
     • Mortar
       • Mixing Cement, Sand and Water
       • DOES NOT DRY OUT
       • Binds bricks together
     • Concrete
       • Very Strong
       • DOES NOT DRY OUT
       • Mixing Cement, Sand, Gravel and Water
       • Used in foundations for buildings/bridges
   • Ores
     • Only used when the ore contains enough metal to make extraction worthwhile
     • Metal Oxides
       • Can be SMELTED directly
         • Smelting
           • The Ore is crushed and concentrated to remove rock containing little/no metal
       • Changed into metals by REDUCTION
         • Reduction
           • Removing the Oxygen from the compound
           • Heating in a furnace with carbon IF the metal is below carbon in the reactivity series
             • Limestone is added to remove impurities from the ore which forms slag
             • Metals ABOVE Carbon in the reactivity series are extracted using ELECTROLYSIS
               • Electrolysis produces Oxygen Gas

2. Iron

   • Blast Furnaces
     • Iron Ore, Coke and Limestone are fed into the top of the blast furnace
     • Molten Iron and Slag collect at the bottom
     • Carbon Monoxide is produced from burning Oxygen and Coke
       • Coke = pure Carbon
       • Carbon Monoxide reduces iron oxide to iron, and is oxidised to carbon dioxide
     • Produces iron
     • produces carbon dioxide
       • Carbon Monoxide reduces iron oxide to iron, and is oxidised to carbon dioxide
   • Limestone reacts with impurities and creates slag which floats on top of the iron

3. Oxidation

   • oxygen is added to a substance

4. Reduction

   • oxygen is removed from a substance

Images and files in the map